at 2 a.m. on Sunday. Remember to change your smoke detector batteries.
2024 $1.00
Third graders at Glen Head School celebrated the culmination of their interdisciplinary rainforest study on Feb. 15. Students spent weeks learning about different animals native to the Amazon.
The North Shore School District is facing a tough series of fiscal years ahead largely due to the continued impact of the 2022 deal with the Long Island Power Authority, causing the district to lose millions of dollars a year in revenue.
The district is also facing a loss of revenue from grants due to their expiration, such as a grant from former state senator Jim Gaughran. These losses, coupled with rising costs and contractual obligations, have created a budget deficit of over $7.5 million this year.
Chris Zublionis, district superintendent, and
James Pappas, assistant superintendent for finance, explained the gravity of the situation and the different ways the district is trying to mitigate its effects in their Feb. 29 budget proposal. Before the presentation, Dr. Andrea Macari, president of the Board of Education, explained that despite the administration’s best efforts, this year and subsequent years will force the district to make tough financial choices.
“We are now at the precipice of a pivotal moment, where the long-standing investment in our schools and in our children meets fiscal pressures,” Macari said. “The real question is can we work together as a community to safeguard the
This is the third story in a series exploring the complexities of elections to provide a better understanding of one of Americans’ most precious privileges, the right to vote.
The State Legislature’s approval of the revised congressional district map for New York’s 26 congressional districts has marked a shift in the state’s political landscape. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed off on the Democratic-drawn map on Feb. 28, and it has tilted the electoral balance in favor of the Democratic Party, especially in key battleground districts.
election could see a benefit.
But these changes come with consequences for other districts in Nassau County. The 1st and 2nd districts are expected to lean slightly more Republican because of the redistricting process. Although Democrats drafted the new map, it primarily made modest adjustments to existing congressional boundaries.
A dozen Huntington residents told the Herald they didn’t know about the new map, but Michael Berg, a registered voter unaffiliated with either political party, said the changes were justified.
One notable change involves the North Shore’s 3rd Congressional District, where the newly elected Rep. Tom Suozzi stands to benefit. By replacing GOP-heavy Massapequa with sections of Huntington and Huntington Station, Suozzi’s prospects in this fall’s general
“For whatever reason, it seems that the Republicans have been gerrymandering these lines for as long as I can remember,” Berg said in a phone interview. “The gerrymandering that they do always contorts the lines to make the electoral votes in their favor. It’s about time to get ahold of that so we can have a real election.”
Democrat Cheryl Lynnblum,CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
The Glenwood Fire Company recently celebrated a remarkable milestone, honoring long-time members John Mahoney and Robert Brown for their 50 years of unwavering service to the community. The event, marked by heartfelt tributes and expressions of gratitude, highlighted the enduring legacy of dedication and sacrifice embodied by these two individuals.
IJohn Mahoney, a familiar face in Glen Head since 1963, recounted his journey into the Glenwood Fire Company. Living just blocks away from the firehouse, the 79-year-old, originally from Ireland, was approached by then-Chief John Matthews, who encouraged him to join the ranks. Reflecting on his decision, Mahoney, who still suits up and helps out, emphasized his desire to give back to the community and support local initiatives, a sentiment that has guided his fivedecade-long commitment.
t is truly remarkable to witness the dedication and commitment of the members who have tirelessly served our community for half a century.
JOE MORRONE President, Glenwood Fire Company“It’s something that I could do for other people,” Mahoney said. “I try to keep doing as much as I can for the area and things like that. I just like to help out as much as I can.”
Similarly, Robert Brown, a former Navy firefighter and seasoned veteran of various fire departments, found his calling in the Glenwood Fire Company in 1974. Inspired by familial ties to firefighting and a deeprooted sense of duty, Brown’s dedication to service has been unwavering throughout his illustrious career. Although the 78-yearold has subsequently moved to Sag Harbor, his son still lives in Glen Head, so Brown frequently visits the area and his former firefighter comrades.
“It’s a wonderful place and a good organization, and those 50 years went by so fast,” Brown said. “When the alarm comes in, I have to hold myself back to not put on the rig.”
The significance of Mahoney and Brown’s service was underscored by Joe Morrone, President of the Glenwood Fire Company, in a heartfelt email commemorating their milestone achievements. Morrone highlighted Mahoney’s symbolic pinning ceremony, where he received a 50-year pin from Captain Farrell J. Sheridan, son of ex-president Farrell A. Sheridan, who swore Mahoney into the company five decades ago.
Morrone lauded the tireless efforts of both Mahoney and Brown, emphasizing their pivotal role in the Glenwood Fire Company’s legacy of excellence. He noted Mahoney’s continued presence on calls, always prepared to lend a hand, and expressed gratitude for their exemplary service.
“It is truly remarkable to witness the dedication and commitment of the members who have tirelessly served our community for half a century,” Morrone wrote. “Their unwavering commitment, bravery, and selflessness in the face of danger have saved
countless lives and protected our homes and businesses from fires.”
In honoring John Mahoney and Robert Brown, the Glenwood Fire Company pays tribute to not only their remarkable accomplishments but also
vital elements of our education for generations of North Shore students to come?”
Zublionis emphasized that the district continues to be proactive in keeping the community informed throughout the process, and plans to hold multiple budget presentations and engage in community meetings to gather input and address concerns. He pointed out that while the presentation featured an initial proposal, there is plenty of work to be done before the May budget vote.
T“This proposed budget is the fodder for much deliberation, discussion, and debate,” Zublionis said. “So when we’re making decisions about what to keep or what not to keep or what to make more efficient, we want to make sure that we don’t compromise existing programs and resources, while also meeting the needs of students.”
costs, none are dealing with the added challenge of revenue loss to this extent.
To address the deficit, the district has proposed a series of measures aimed at both increasing revenue and reducing costs. On the revenue side, the district anticipates a net increase in state aid and additional revenue from tuition and interest, including a roughly $400,000 increase in state aid in the New York State budget. However, these increases are not sufficient to offset the loss of revenue from utilities.
his proposed budget is the fodder for much deliberation, discussion and debate.CHRIS ZUBLIONIS superintendent, North Shore School District
One of the major challenges facing the district is the significant loss of revenue, particularly from utilities, largely due to the deal with LIPA. Pappas and Zublionis added that while many districts in the region are facing financial struggles due to inflation and rising
“We’ve had to find both increases in revenue and reductions in costs,” explained Zublionis. “While we believe that this budget preserves the North Shore experience for students, the students are going to start to see (the impact).”
The district has identified areas for cost reduction, including non-instructional cuts and adjustments to retirement and benefits payments. These measures, while necessary, may impact certain aspects of the student experience, such as class sizes and program offerings.
One notable aspect of the proposed budget is the district’s commitment to maintaining existing programs and resources while meeting the needs of all
students, including English language learners and special education students.
Zublionis added that the district aims to
the shared outcomes outlined in the North Shore journey plan.
“Our goal is to create the best possible experience for students while balancing revenue loss, rising costs and the impact on taxpayers,” Zublionis reiterated, “while also meeting the high expectations of families and students
by Joan ChittisterYour writer was grateful to find author Chittister’s book, subtitled “Growing Old Gracefully”, written by her at age seventy, the same age your writer turns this year.
Inevitably, we come to see things differently as we age. In “The Gift of Years” these changes in the “capstone years” as she calls them, present the gift of becoming more fully alive than ever. Cicero notes that old age is richer in reflection, force of character and judgement. The maturity and mellowing of character allows the older generation to provide a behavioral model for younger generations showing them the way to a fullness of life.
Seneca said these years abound with pleasure if we know how to use them. Free of obligations and deadlines, there is freshness in these years. Understanding, enjoyment and love of life all increase, allowing for deeper, richer and more important experiences. The world looks different — more to be treasured, explored and enjoyed.
A certain serenity sets in.
Chittister writes “But we are here to depart from this world as finished as we can possibly become. Old age is...exactly the time to grow in new ways [making] sense out of all the growing we have already done. It is the softening season when everything in us is meant to achieve its sweetest, richest, most unique self”.
Chittister calls it a damping-down time of life where anger, jealousy, envy, and pride subside to awaken another whole level of life.
“As Agatha Christie put it, we ‘bloom’ as we grow. New abilities emerge, new insights arise. New vision is possible.”
A certain urgency and intensity in living sets in as we become aware of the presence of time. With forty short chapters on subjects such as Regret, Joy, Possibility, Letting Go, Success, Wisdom, Time and Appreciation, “The Gift of Years” provides an indispensable guide to aging well.
In a groundbreaking initiative aimed at restoring the once-thriving oyster populations of Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor, the Town of Oyster Bay has embarked on a transformative project called “Putting the Oyster Back in Oyster Bay.” This collaborative effort brings together the town, SUNY Stony Brook, Adelphi University, and local environmental organizations such as the Oyster Bay-Cold Spring Harbor Protection Committee and Friends of the Bay.
With a generous grant of $477,200 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, supplemented by matching funds totaling $308,500, the project sets out to address the myriad challenges facing oyster reefs in the region. Over the years, reefs in Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor have endured overharvesting, habitat loss, and degradation of water quality.
“Putting the Oyster Back in Oyster Bay” seeks to tackle these issues head-on by synthesizing data to identify areas for enhanced oyster growth and greater survival rates. By refining hydrodynamic models, creating habitat suitability maps, and mapping oyster recruitment, the initiative aims to develop a comprehensive, sciencebased plan to establish self-sustaining oyster populations in the bay.
In a statement about the project, Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino emphasized the historical significance of Oyster Bay and the responsibility to preserve its marine ecosystems for future generations.
“The Oyster Bay-Cold Spring Harbor Oyster Restoration Project is a testament to our proactive approach in addressing environmental challenges,” Saladino said. “By working together, we are not only rebuilding oyster populations but also fostering a more resilient and inter-
connected habitat.”
Town Councilwoman Michele Johnson echoed that sentiment in the statement, underscoring the importance of collaboration in achieving environmental goals.
“The Town of Oyster Bay is committed to playing a key role in this endeavor,” Johnson said. “Working handin-hand with SUNY Stony Brook, environmental groups, and other local partners, we aim to foster the rebuilding of oyster populations and contribute to the creation of shellfish reefs — a crucial component of Long Island Sound’s important coastal habitat.”
Michael Doall, associate director of shellfish restoration and aquaculture at SUNY Stony Brook, outlined the
project’s goal of developing a comprehensive bay-wide plan for oyster restoration.
“We want to take a holistic look at the entire system and develop a strategy for restoring oyster populations,” Doall said. “This involves coordinating ongoing restoration efforts, such as the oyster gardening program and the (Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration) program, to create a blueprint for future restoration activities.”
Rob Crafa, coordinator of the Oyster Bay-Cold Spring Harbor Protection Committee, offered some insight into the genesis of the project and its significance. He cited the success of similar restoration efforts as inspiration for it.
“The work done in Shinnecock Bay caught our attention,” Crafa said. “We saw the potential for restoring oyster populations in Oyster Bay-Cold Spring Harbor and decided to pursue a collaborative project.”
Crafa emphasized the project’s multifaceted approach, which builds on existing efforts such as the town’s oyster gardening program.
“This project differs from past initiatives in its focus on research and data-driven decision-making,” he said. “While the oyster gardening program serves as a public outreach tool, this project aims to identify factors essential for the sustainable restoration of oyster populations.”
The ultimate goal of the project is to establish a sustainable oyster population that provides ecological benefits while supporting a commercial shellfish fishery.
“Sustainability is key,” Crafa said. “We aim to achieve a balance where oysters can thrive ecologically while also supporting economic activities.”
While no date has been set for the beginning of the project, Doall said that it is expected to start later this year.
Friends Academy already had a pair of regular-season victories over conference rival North Shore in the bank when it denied the Vikings their first-ever boys’ basketball county championship last Saturday at Farmingdale State College.
Senior Josh McKenzie had 12 points, senior Kyle Kramer and freshman Eyan Valdez 11 apiece, and senior Jackson O’Brien 10 as the top-seeded Quakers claimed the Class A title with a hardfought 55-49 victory over No. 2 North Shore before large electric crowds for both sides.
“We know how tough it was going to be to beat them a third time,” Friends head coach Matt Johnsen said. “We didn’t play well in the first half. We rushed possessions and took some bad shots, but our defense was there. We just had to settle down offensively.”
It was the 17th consecutive victory for Friends Academy, which takes a record of 19-4 record into the Long Island Class A championship game matchup against Southampton next Saturday at Farmingdale State at 1 p.m.
North Shore (18-5) was attempting to avenge a pair of losses to Friends over the previous two months and make history. The Quakers won the first meeting 62-42 at home Jan. 11 and also took the rematch at North Shore, 68-50, Feb. 2.
North Shore senior Vasilis Triantafyllou had a game-high 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Seniors Matt D’Aversa (13) and Jack Molesky combined for 20 points.
“We left it all on the floor,” Vikings head coach Harrison Ryan Berglin said. “Our effort was there the entire 32 minutes. The kids played their hearts out. In the end, Friends just made a few more baskets than we did.”
The largest lead for either team from tipoff until the final minute was five. North Shore led 22-17 late in the second quarter and 32-27 midway through the third after taking a three-point lead into the lockers at intermission.
Friends got two points apiece from Valdez, McKenzie and Kramer, and a trey from O’Brien to surge to a 36-33 lead after three quarters. The Vikings got within one early in the fourth but never closer as a pair of senior Myles Morris baskets and a
dagger trey from Kramer staved them off.
“We got back to how we’re capable of playing offensively in the second half,” Johnsen said.
In the semifinals at Farmingdale State Feb. 28, Triantafyllou delivered 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and North Shore pulled away late for a 47-39 win over No. 6 Cold Spring Harbor.
The Seahawks led by as many as six twice in the first half, but North Shore controlled the lead for much of the second half. Nate Grossman nailed consecutive threes to give Cold Spring Harbor a 36-35 edge with 4:49 left in regulation. Triantafyllou answered with a layup to give the Vikings a one-point lead and followed with a trey. But Cole Newman cut the margin down to one with a three. It was 40-39 with 2:59 left.
Junior Lucas Schimsky, who had 13 points, hit a jumper for a three-point lead and junior Damon Merazzi followed with another to bring the North Shore side of the stands to a roar. Triantafyllou sank two free throws with 24 seconds to go to seal the outcome.
Friends Academy advanced to the title game after snapping No. 5 Floral Park’s
10-game winning streak in the earlier semifinal, squeaking out a 55-52 victory behind Valadez’s 22 points, including seven in the fourth quarter.
That game was tied at 50 when Valadez assisted on O’Brien’s basket with under a minute remaining. After Valdez and Floral Park’s Jim Driscoll traded field goals, an O’Brien free throw with 13.4 seconds left made it 55-52 and the Knights missed a three-point attempt just before the horn to force overtime.
The diverse Long Island real estate scene includes industry experts from every niche specialty from construction and design, to insurance and sales. And the best of the best were honored last week as part of Herald Community Newspapers and RichnerLive’s third annual Real Estate Achievement and Leadership Awards, or REAL Awards.
“It’s a relatively small island, but a lot of things are happening,” said Chris Kelly, the marketing vice president at Tritec Real Estate Co.
Held at The Heritage Club at Bethpage, this year’s awards once again honored many leaders in the space who have been in the game for decades, as well as up-and-coming professionals — all with successful projects and happy clients to show for their work.
Antoinette Biordi, four-time Emmy Award-winning anchor and reporter for News 12, handed out a number of awards split into nearly 30 categories that included Broker of the Year, Construction Group of the Year, and the top residential and commercial broker.
Sara Gore, real estate saleswoman and four-time Emmy Award-winning television host for “Open House” and “New York Live” on NBC, was a keynote speaker and recipient of the special “Trailblazer” award.
“I’ve been in this business for a long time,” Gore said. ”But now to be on the other side of things — and be on the real estate side and really feel like I’ve solidified my place, my stake in this industry — it feels really good to be a part of it.
“I’m so proud to be included within this group of professionals that are here tonight.”
Mel Pulatani and son Dan of MP Construction D — a general contracting company specializing in luxury residential and sophisticated commercial projects — were given the Father & Son Power Team special award.
“I mean it’s obviously an honor to be honored at this event,” Dan Pulatani said. “But I have to give all credit to my father. He’s the real reason we’re here. He’s the guy that makes the dream happen. I’m lucky and honored to be his partner every day.”
Eric Alexander, executive director of Vision Long Island, accepted the NotFor-Profit special award.
“The theme of our work is connecting to local communities,” Alexander said. “And that’s how real estate development is successful: When they work with local communities. It means a lot when a number of the other honorees, too, are connected to local communities. I’m in great company.”
Steven Krieger, chief executive of B2K Development, was selected as Power Developer of the Year.
“Hard work leads to luck,” Krieger said. “I’ve been so lucky to meet so many great people in this business.”
Beth Donner, founder of Melvillebased Beth Donner Design, was honored
with the Interior Designer of the Year special award. Christopher Robinson, president of R&M Engineering, accepted the engineering special award, while also celebrating 25 years in the business.
Elisabetta Coschignano, of the Sahn Ward Braff Koblenz Coschignano law
firm, was among those honored in the commercial real estate category.
“I pride myself on being prepared in the Long Island real estate world, and especially as it relates to zoning and land use,” Coschignano said.
Connie Pinilla, principal agent for the
Connie Pinilla Team at Compass, received the brokers’ award in the residential category for her 21 practicing years.
“I love real estate,” Pinilla said. “It makes me feel on top of the world.”
Gold Sponsors of the event included B2K Development and Beth Donner Design.
Silver Sponsors were All State Abstract, Amazon, Anthony A. Nozzolillo Esq., Breslin Realty Development Corp., Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency, Brown Harris Stevens, Champion Elevators, Cronin & Cronin, Damianos Realty Group, Empire Electrical Corp., GC Advisory Group, Harris Beach PLLC, Long Island Board of Realtors, Men on the Move, Merritt Environmental Consulting Corp., Metropolitan Realty Associates, Mojo Stumer Associates, MP Construction D, PX4 Development, R&M Engineering, Sahn Ward Braff Koblenz Coschignano, Signature Premier Properties, Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency, the Connie Pinilla Team at Compass, the Crest Group and Tritec.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
of Huntington, said she was hoping for a new map that would put her back in the 3rd District. She added that she was uncertain why parts of Huntington were not redistricted.
“I don’t feel like my community belongs to C.D. 1, because we’re much closer to the North Shore of Nassau County than we are to the towns further east,” Lynnblum said. “I don’t feel we have much in common with the Hamptons. We have much more in common with Oyster Bay, Great Neck and Port Washington.”
The current redistricting cycle traces back to 2014, when voters endorsed an amendment to the State constitution aimed at overhauling the redistricting process by transferring the responsibility from the State Legislature to a newly established Independent Redistricting Commission.
After each census, the commission is tasked with drafting new maps of U.S. House, State Senate and Assembly districts, which are then presented to the Legislature for approval. If the commission fails to submit maps by a specified deadline, the Legislature assumes responsibility for drawing them. In 2021, following the 2020 census, the commission embarked on its inaugural map-drawing effort.
But the process encountered significant hurdles. Democratic and Republicans members of the commission failed to reach a consensus on a unified set of maps, and instead released two conflicting versions. So, in February 2022, the Legislature, which was dominated by Democrats, took charge of the process, and drew district maps that Republicans roundly criticized, accusing the Democrats of gerrymandering to favor their party’s candidates.
Democrats defended their actions by arguing that the maps accurately reflected the state’s predominantly Democratic electorate. New York has 6.5 million registered Democrats, 2.8 million unaffiliated voters, or “blanks,” and 2.7 million Republicans.
Bayville
Centre Island
Cove Neck
East Norwich
East Williston Farmingdale
Flower Hill
Glen Cove
Glen Head
Glenwood Landing
Great Neck
Great Neck Plaza
Hicksville
Huntington
Huntington Bay
Huntington Station
Jericho
Kings Point
Lake Success
Lattingtown
Laurel Hollow
Following Hochul’s signing of the new maps into law that February, Republicans promptly initiated legal action, filing a lawsuit challenging the maps’ validity.
Over the subsequent weeks, a Steuben County judge heard both sides’ arguments, and on March 31, 2022, the judge ruled against the Democraticdrawn maps.
The 3rd Congressional District’s boundaries are set to shift north and east, shedding the Republicanheavy Massapequa while incorporating sections of Suffolk County’s North Shore, including portions of Huntington and Huntington Station.
Levittown
Lloyd Harbor
Locust Valley
Matinecock
Mill Neck
Mineola
Muttontown
New Cassel
New Hyde Park
North Hills
Old Bethpage
Old Brookville
Oyster Bay
Parts of Queens east of the Whitestone Expressway
Plainview Roslyn
Sea Cliff
Swedetown Village
Westbury
—Roksana Amid
Democrats took the matter to the state Court of Appeals, a seven-member panel entirely appointed by Democratic governors. That April, the court voted 4-3 to invalidate the Democratic-drawn maps, citing procedural unconstitutionality and asserting that they had been drawn with impermissibly partisan bias. Consequently, the court appointed a special master to craft new district lines, a scenario similar to New York’s 2012 redistricting cycle.
In May 2022, the special master unveiled his final version of the maps. The upheaval in the redistricting process significantly disrupted primary races for Congress, which were just two months away. The consequences of the confusion were evident in the general election that November.
While Republicans nationwide secured victories in the House of Representatives, their performance was relatively lackluster. In New York, however, the GOP experienced remarkable success, winning five of the state’s six competitive House races. Republicans flipped four seats previously held by Democrats, including that of Sean Patrick Maloney, the House Democrats’ campaign chief.
Given the GOP’s five-seat majority in the House, those four flipped seats played a pivotal role in shaping the current political landscape in Washington. Just three months after the rejection of the Democraticdrawn maps by the state Court of Appeals, its chief judge, Janet DiFiore, stepped down from the bench. DiFiore, who authored the majority opinion in the case, had drawn criticism from the state’s progressives.
Reflecting similar sentiments, Democrats in the State Senate rejected Hochul’s initial nominee to succeed DiFiore, citing concerns over his perceived con-
servatism. Hochul eventually nominated Rowan Wilson, an associate justice of the court who had opposed the court’s decision in the redistricting case. In April 2023, Wilson’s nomination was confirmed.
That same month, a group of voters initiated a challenge against the congressional maps crafted by the special master a year earlier. They contended that the existing lines should not be kept until 2030, the next census year, and insisted that the Independent Redistricting Commission had ample time to develop new maps, using the process outlined in the State Constitution.
Last December, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the commission could have another opportunity to draw the state’s district lines, setting a deadline of Feb. 28, 2024.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Hochul released a shared statement after the ruling, saying the decision “will ensure all New Yorkers are fairly and equitably represented by elected officials. District lines should be drawn by the Independent Redistricting Commission. We will continue our efforts to protect voting rights for all New Yorkers.”
Applications are now open for the 2024 New York State Summer School of the Arts. Students in grades 8-12 across New York state are encouraged to apply for the visual arts, media arts and theatre programs.
The deadline for applications, along with respective materials, is March 8 for theatre, and March 15, for visual arts and media arts.
Since its inception in 1970, NYSSSA has benefited over 18,000 students, providing them with rigorous train -
ing and the opportunity to study with professional artists in their chosen fields. Additionally, the Empire State Arts Scholarship program, administered by the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education, will offer $180,000 in scholarships to support low-income students seeking summer arts education opportunities. Applications for scholarships are due by April 19, and will be evaluated based on financial need. Apply at lysed.com
An Alzheimer’s Community Forum will be taking place in Glen Cove. The event, implemented by the Long Island chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, is open to the general public. It aims at raising awareness around “Alzheimer, dementia and memory loss in this brief community-focused listening session,” according to the organization website.
The speakers at this forum will review the basics of the condition, services offered by the Alzheimer’s Association with suggestions on how to expand the association’s reach at local
programs and services. Information will be exchanged, and concerns of participants discussed, especially on the way the association can help those affected.
The association, through its Long Island Chapter, covers Nassau and Suffolk counties. Its goal is to assist those living with the disease, their families as well as caregivers and health care professionals.
The Alzheimer’s Community Forum is on March 19 at the Glen Cove Senior Center, 130 Glen St., Glen Cove, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Thanks to the success of Love Your Neighbor Project’s 4 th annual All You Need Is Love fundraiser, the nonprofit organization is continueing their All You Need Is Love Scholarships. The scholarships award students and classes in the North Shore School District who align with the project’s mission of connecting to social goodness in the community.
The first scholarship awards one resident within the district $500 dollars for a proposed community project. The second one awards one class, group or club
from each North Shore school, grades K-12, whose proposed community project aligns with the project’s mission, with elementary school recipients receiving $250 each, middle school students receiving $375 each, and high school students receiving $500 each.
Finally, the last scholarship awards $1,000 to a graduating senior who “embodies (LYNP’s) mission of connecting to social goodness in their everyday lives.” For more information on the scholarships and how to apply, visit LYNP.org.
Anne Helen Sege, 92, of Glen Head, died on Feb. 28. Beloved wife of the late Julius; loving mother of Patricia Wilken (the late Richard), Irene Lipsky (David), and the late Vincent Sege (Kathleen); proud grandmother of Lauren Anias (Micah), Vincent (Erika) and Amy
Lipsky.
Visiting to be held at DodgeThomas Funeral Home of Glen Cove on March 8, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.; mass will be held at St. Hyacinth Church, on March 9, at 10 a.m. Internment to follow at East Hillside Cemetery.
BUILDER
Aquacade Pools
Big Becks Pools & Pavers
Brothers 3
TITLE COMPANY
Fidelity National Title Group
Liberty National Title
MacGregor Abstract Corp.
TREE SERVICE COMPANY
Greencare Tree Service
We Care Tree Service
Wonderland Tree Care + Landscapes, Wonderland Tree Care + Landscapes
UPHOLSTERY
A & B Upholstery
East Meadow Upholsterers Corp.
Tony’s Decorating-Upholstering
WINDOWS COMPANY
Marcor Construction
Panther Siding & Windows, Inc. Unified Home Remodeling
KIDS & EDUCATION
ADULT EDUCATIONCONTINUING EDUCATION
Hofstra University
Molloy University
Nassau Community College
ART SCHOOL
ARTrageous Studio, LLC
Hue Studio
The Art Studio
BEAUTY SCHOOL
Brittany Beauty Academy, Levittown
Long Island Nail Skin & Hair Institute
Nassau BOCES
CHARTER/PAROCHIAL/ PRIVATE SCHOOL
East Woods School
Lawrence Woodmere Academy
St. Anthony’s High School
COLLEGE PREP
SERVICES/ADVISORS
Chaminade High School College Connection
Lawrence Woodmere Academy
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY
Adelphi University
Hofstra University
Molloy University
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY
PRESIDENT
Christine M. Riordan, PhD, Adelphi University
James Lentini, DMA, Molloy University
Susan Poser, PhD, Hofstra University
DANCE SCHOOL
Dance Mechanix Hart & Soul Dance and Performing Arts
Sarah Beth Academy
DAY CAMP
Bellmore United Methodist Nursery School
Bright Star Academy
Hofstra Summer Camps
DAY CARE
Bright Star Academy
Five Towns Early Learning Center
Our Kids Place Hewlett
DRIVING SCHOOL
Bell Auto Driving School
East Meadow Driving School
Suffolk Auto Driving School
GYMNASTICS CENTER
CATS (Children’s Athletic Training School)
KidStrong, Carle Place
LI Elite Gymnastics
HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Alexandra Greenberg, George
W. Hewlett High School
Hank Williams, Lawrence
Woodmere Academy
Richard Schaffer, East
Rockaway High School
KIDS BIRTHDAY PARTIES
Epic Escape Rooms Long Island
Krafty Hands
Long Island Children’s Museum
LEARNING CENTER/TUTOR
Cornerstone Behavioral Services
Long Beach Public Library
Tutoring Club of Bellmore
MARTIAL ARTS
Goshinkan Jujitsu Dojo
Pakua Martial Arts
Warren Levi Martial Arts & Fitness
MUSIC SCHOOLS/CLASSES
Center Stage Music Center
Long Beach Guitar School
The Children’s Orchestra Society
NURSERY SCHOOL
Bellmore United Methodist Nursery School
Bright Star Academy
Lawrence Woodmere Academy
SPORTS CAMP
Beach Baseball Camp and Clinics
CATS (Children’s Athletic Training School)
Hofstra Summer Sports Academy Camps
B&B/INN
Ram’s Head Inn
Southhampton Inn
The Ocean Bay House
EVENT VENUE
Epic Escape Rooms Long Island
Kombert Caterers
Long Island Children’s Museum
HOTEL
Hampton Inn & Suites Rockville Centre
The Garden City Hotel
Uniondale Marriott
LOCAL TOURIST
ATTRACTION
Long Island Aquarium
Nunley’s Carousel
Raynham Hall Museum
MUSEUM
Cradle of Aviation Museum
Long Island Children’s Museum
Raynham Hall Museum
PLACE TO HAVE A PARTY
Epic Escape Rooms Long Island
Kombert Caterers
Long Island Children’s Museum
PLACE TO WORSHIP
First Presbyterian Church of Glen Cove
Temple Avodah
Temple Israel - Lawrence
WEDDING VENUE
Bridgeview Yacht Club
Crest Hollow Country Club
Swan Club On The Harbor
SERVICES
ADVERTISING AGENCY
Austin Williams
Creative Focus Designs, Inc.
Jillian’s Circus
ANIMAL ADOPTION/ RESCUE SERVICES
North Shore Animal League America
Ruff House Rescue
Terry Animal Hospital
APPLIANCE REPAIR STORE
Home Appliance
Reliable Appliance
The Appliance Doctor
ARBITRATION & MEDIATION FIRM
Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP
Resolute Systems, Inc.
Vaz Law, PLLC
ARCHITECT
Katherine Serrano Sosa, Rooted Architecture Studio
Long Island Architecture Studio
Stephen G. Hayduk, P.E., Hayduk Engineering LLC
CAR WASH
Majestic Auto Spa
Seaford Car Wash & Detail Center
Ultimate Express Car Wash
CAR/LIMO SERVICE
Broward Limousines
Executive Limousine of Long Island
Long Island Elite Limousines
M&V Limousines, Ltd.
CEMETERIES
Huntington Rural Cemetery
Pinelawn Memorial Park and Arboretum
St. Charles / Resurrection Cemeteries
CORPORATE LAW FIRM
Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP
Love Law Firm, PLLC
Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C.
DIVORCE ATTORNEY
David Mejias, Mejias, Milgrim & Lindo, P.C.
Marina Moreno, Law Office of Marina Moreno, PLLC
Robert Keilson, Esq., Garden City Law Firms
DRY CLEANER
American Drive-In Cleaners
Delta Cleaners
Old Country Cleaners
ELDER LAW ATTORNEY
Jennifer B. Cona, Cona Elder Law
Marina Moreno, Law Office of Marina Moreno, PLLC
Wendy K. Goidel, Goidel Law Group
Express Employment Professionals
NRGUSA
PrideStaff
ESTATE PLANNING
ATTORNEY
Jennifer B. Cona, Cona Elder Law
Marina Moreno, Law Office of Marina Moreno, PLLC
Stephanie D’Angelo, D’Angelo Law Associates
FAMILY LAW FIRM
Joseph Law Group, P.C.
Law Office of Marina Moreno
Mejias Milgrim Alvarado & Lindo, P.C.
FEMALE MENTORING GROUP
Girl Scouts of Nassau County
Miss Long Island Pageants
Moxxie Network
FUNERAL HOME
Gutterman’s Funeral Homes
N. F. Walker Funeral Home
Towers Funeral Home, Inc.
GREEN BUSINESS
Green Home Logic
Green Team LI Winters Bros. Waste Systems
HEALTH CARE LAW FIRM
Cona Elder Law PLLC Harris Beach
The Rizzuto Law Firm
LABOR LAW FIRM
Jackson Lewis P.C.
Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP
The NHG Law Group P.C
LAUNDROMAT
Bayport Laundromat
Laundry Palace
Lynbrook Laundry
Standard laundromat
LAW FIRM (OVERALL)
OVER 35 EMPLOYEES
Miller and Caggiano, LLP
Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C.
The NHG Law Group P.C
LAW FIRM (OVERALL)
UNDER 35 EMPLOYEES
Cona Elder Law PLLC
Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP
The Rizzuto Law Firm
LITIGATION/BUSINESS
LITIGATION LAW FIRM
Levitt LLP
Sahn Ward Braff Koblenz PLLC
The Rizzuto Law Firm
MATRIMONIAL LAW FIRM
Law Office of Marina Moreno
Mejias Milgrim Alvarado & Lindo, P.C.
Picarello & Saciolo, P.C.
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
Hewlett House
Long Island Children’s Museum
Temple Avodah
PERSONAL INJURY
ATTORNEY - FIRM
Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP
The Rizzuto Law Firm
The Selvin Law Firm
PET GROOMER
Kelly, Spaw Pet Salon of Westbury
Maria - The Barrie Inn
Posh Paws Pet Spa & Boutique
PHOTOGRAPHER
Brian Ozegovich, Park Ave Studio
Gaitley Stevenson-Mathews, GSM Communications
Jonathan Ortiz, Creative Focus Designs
PROPERTY TAX
REDUCTION SERVICES
Herman Katz
Maidenbaum Property Tax
Reduction Group, LLC
Tax Correction Agency
PUBLIC RELATIONS
COMPANY
Ingrid Dodd Public Relations
Marketing Works
ZE Creative Communications
REAL ESTATE LAW
ATTORNEY
Anthony Nozzolillo, On Point Land Services Corporation
Gilbert Balanoff, Law Offices of Gilbert L. Balanoff, P.C.
Marina Moreno, Law Office of Marina Moreno, PLLC
REAL ESTATE LAW FIRM
Ackerman Law PLLC
Law Office of Marina Moreno
The Law Offices of Gilbert L. Balanoff, P.C.
SELF-STORAGE COMPANY
CubeSmart Self Storage
Freeport Self Storage
Men On The Move Moving & Self Storage
TAX LAW FIRM
Barnes & Barnes, P.C.
Maidenbaum & Sternberg, LLP Tenenbaum Law, P.C.
TRAVEL AGENCY
Magical Dad Vacations - Keith Voets
Superior Travel Consultants
Vitas Travel Service
VETERINARIAN
Gabrielle Pimento, DVM, Bond Vet: Merrick
John Foy, DVM, Terry Animal Hospital
Timothy Sheppard, DVM, Sayville Animal Hospital
WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANY
Jamaica Ash & Rubbish Removal
Long Island Waste Services, LLC
National Waste Services, LLC Winters Bros. Waste Systems
SHOPPING
ANTIQUE STORE
Collectors Coins & Jewelry
Garden City Antiques & Fine Arts, Ltd.
THE SHOPPE by Trubee Hill
APPLIANCE/HOME ELECTRONICS STORE
Appliance World P.C. Richard & Son
Reliable Appliance BOUTIQUE
Jolie Fleur
Trois Jours Boutique Etc.
Uniquely Yours
BRIDAL STORE
Blossom Brides
Bridal Reflections
Estelle’s Dressy Dresses
CARPET STORE
Carpet Depot
Dee-Jay Carpet Co., Inc.
Glen Floors
COIN STORE
Coin Galleries of Oyster Bay Collectors Coins & Jewelry
Long Island Rare Coin & Currency
COLLECTIBLES STORE
Collectors Coins & Jewelry
Living Legends Memorabilia & Collectibles
Remember Yesteryears Vintage Center
CONSIGNMENT/ THRIFT STORE
LuxeSwap
National Council of Jewish
Women Thrift Shop
Worth Repeating, Worth Repeating
EYEWEAR STORE
Eyeglass House
Eyes On Broadway
Mt. Sinai Optical
FARMERS MARKET
Crossroads Farm at Grossmann’s
Deep Roots Farmers Market
Meyer’s Farm & Greenhouses
FLORIST
Central Florist
Feldis Florist & Flower Delivery
Pedestals Floral Decorators
FURNITURE STORE
Bob’s Discount Furniture and Mattress Store
Furniture Gallery of Long Island
Raymour & Flanigan
GIFT SHOP
Dolce Confections
Pampered Professional
The SHOPPE by Trubee Hill
GOURMET MARKET
Grace’s Marketplace Sons of a Butcher
The Original Salpino’s of Wantagh
GROCERY/SUPERMARKET
Holiday Farms Stew Leonard’s
Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace
LOCAL CHILDREN’S
CLOTHING
Denny’s Fashion, Style, For All Koukla Children’s Boutique
Mur-Lees, Men’s & Boy’s Shop
LOCAL HARDWARE STORE
Costello’s Ace Hardware
Millers True Value
Schaefer’s Ace Hardware
LOCAL JEWELRY STORE
Hislon Jewelers
North Shore Gold & Diamond
Unicorn Jewels
LOCAL MEN’S CLOTHING
B2bespoke Custom Clothier
Mur-Lees, Men’s & Boy’s Shop Standard Thread
LOCAL WOMEN’S CLOTHING
A.J. & MOS
Trois Jours Boutique Etc.
Uniquely Yours
NURSERY & GARDEN
CENTER
Atlantic Nursery & Garden Shop
Dees’ Nursery And Florist
Hicks Nurseries
PAWN SHOP
Collectors Coins & Jewelry
Matthew James Jewelers
Pawn Express
WINDOW TREATMENT STORE
Blinds To Go
Homestead Window Treatments
The Blind Spot Inc.
BICYCLE STORE
Brands Cycle & Fitness
Oceanside Cycle
Trek Bicycle Massapequa
BOXING CENTER
Fit Theorem
iLoveKickboxing
Kayo Boxing
CROSSFIT GYM
CrossFit Merrick
CrossFit Seize The Day
Fit Theorem
GYM & FITNESS CENTER
Fit Theorem
Fit4Life Studios, Inc.
The Bodysmith Fitness & Massage
ICE SKATING RINK
Grant Park Skating Center
Newbridge Arena
Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center
KIDS’ SPORTS LEAGUE
East Coast Football Club
East Rockaway Raiders Football
Hewlett Lawrence Soccer Club
PERSONAL TRAINER
Ava Donaldson, Fit4Life Studios
Leah Stukov, FitX50
Taylor Costello, CSCS, MMP, LMT, The Bodysmith Fitness and Massage
PERSONAL TRAINING
FACILITY
Fit Theorem
Fit4Life Studios, Inc.
Personal Training Institute of Rockville Centre PILATES
Club Pilates Merrick
Fit4Life Studios, Inc.
The Pilates Studio, Inc.
PLACE
Bay Shore
Michael’s
We’ve heard a lot about the economy in the years coming out of the coronavirus pandemic — and those conversations will only get louder as we head into what is expected to be a rather contentious presidential election.
But when it comes to the economy on Long Island — at least for now, it’s rebounding. At least according to the man whose collection of gold in Manhattan far exceeds what’s found in Fort Knox.
John Williams, president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, paid the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale a visit last week, sharing the state of the economy with members of the Long Island Association. And there’s plenty to talk about.
“As business leaders, you all know all too well the impacts the pandemic had on our communities in our economy,” Williams said “In many way, Long Island’s economy mirrors New York City’s, and both were hit especially hard in 2020. In fact, much harder than what we saw in the rest of the country.”
Inflation was rampant, the job outlook was unstable, and the supply chain was struggling to regain its once super-efficient form.
But an important milestone was reached last year, Williams said: total employment numbers returned to what they were before the pandemic.
“Last year was also a turning point for the U.S. economy overall,” Williams said. “The economy grew far faster than anyone expected a year ago, boosted by increases in the labor force and productivity.”
The fact that the financial market has held for the past two years also is significant, Williams said, since that’s the longest stretch in five decades.
And although inflation continues to be a concern, at least as far as personal consumption expenditures go,
numbers are falling from the 40-year high experienced just a couple years ago to levels considered far more stable.
Williams visited with the LIA as part of an overall Long Island tour that included stops in Suffolk County as well as at Hofstra University. Although monetary policy itself is decided on Capitol Hill and the White House, the Reserve Bank of New York is where the nation’s monetary policy is implemented as part of the larger Fed.
Williams visited Long Island at a time when the economy here has stabilized, according to LIA president and chief executive Matthew Cohen.
“Our gross domestic product is $200 billion,” Cohen said. “About 45 percent of adults have a college degree — which is higher, actually, in both New York City, and the state as a whole. And, as a region, we have a low unem-
ployment rate.”
That’s pretty significant for a region that is larger than 15 states. Which is why it’s important businesses on Long Island work together, Cohen added, to lead the rest of the nation in the ongoing recovery.
“We need to work together — everyone in this room, everyone in our region — to create new good-paying jobs to support the growth of both legacy sectors and these emerging industries,” he said. It’s also important to “cultivate entrepreneurship so that the next Apple can be built here.”
Over the decades, Long Island and the country has proven to itself it can weather a number of storms. But the economy is ever-changing, Williams said, and the pandemic proved it’s important to strengthen the country’s financial infrastructure.
“It’s kind of a recognition of our limits to that resiliency,” Williams said. “Supply chains have become extremely complex.
“That’s one of the lessons — that when you have extreme movements in demand supply … things can crack in that system. People are recognizing that, in terms of businesses, of having more resiliency.”
Williams can’t make predictions of what the economy will bring, but can say the world we live in now is already different, and will continue changing as we move forward. Like the movement of more and more people to continue working from home, or maintaining hybrid work environments where they may only be in the office a couple times a week.
A potential solution?
“To do office space in the modern world, you have to invest a lot to make that office space attractive,” Williams said. “It’s just one of those kinds of evolutions that is jarring that we go through in cities like New York where things have changed, and we need to adjust to that. I’m confident we will be able to do that.”
Michael Hinman/Herald
By Karen Bloom
All roads lead back to Lynbrook it seems. Certainly for Joe Gatto.
He’s stepped away from his comfort zone — “The Impractical Jokers” — to the dismay of many folks. His loyal cadre of fans came to know him from the popular improvisational hidden camera show, which he hosted with his buddies Brian “Q” Quinn, James “Murr” Murray, and Sal Vulcano, for nine seasons.
Fans were certainly disappointed when he moved on from Q, Murr and Sal in 2021 to focus on co-parenting his two kids, Milana and Remington (now 9 and 7).
But you needn’t fret. Gatto is doing just fine — as is “Jokers,” now in its 10th season.
Since leaving his pals to carry on “Jokers” without him, the jokes certainly continue as Gatto’s taken his energy — and his comedic talents — to the stand-up circuit.
His tour, “Joe Gatto’s Night of Comedy,” arrives Friday at The Paramount in Huntington. Minus his friends, fans get an hour of Gatto, as he riffs on life, his family, and probably even his dogs.
“I’m extremely proud of this hour of comedy I’ve put together, and am so excited to film it at the first theater I performed on this tour back in February 2023,” Gatto says. “It also happens to be one of my favorite theaters, too, which is nice since it’s in my ‘hometown’ of Long Island.”
Of course, there were some nerves involved in going solo.
“After my time with ‘Jokers,’ I needed to figure out the next step in my career,” Gatto reflects.
• Friday, March 8, 7 and 9:30 p.m.
• $59.75, $39.75, $29.75
• Tickets available at Ticketmaster.com or ParamountNY.com
• The Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington
“I needed to figure out different ways to make people laugh because that’s what I love to do. Stand-up presented itself as a way to do that. My agents and managers were like, ‘Why don’t you give stand-up a shot?’”
And so he did, on a winter’s evening in a small club in Appleton, Wisconsin, in January 2022, for a brief 35 minutes.
“I enjoyed it right from the get-go,” he says. “It quickly graduated into an hour show, and I moved up to theaters. Fans were coming out, and we’re having a great time. Telling stories of my life and thinking about different ways that I could express myself to get people to know me a bit better has been a really fun journey.”
Gatto readily admits it’s been a learning experience.
“It was a different format that I wasn’t necessarily versed in, so I was a little nervous,” he says. “The biggest thing for me was I had never performed live before. For 20 years, I was part of an ensemble, stand-up being its own art was a thing I needed to adapt to. I quickly took to it.
“The challenge of writing the hour, curating it, and thinking of what stories I want to tell and how to tell them and punch up the jokes, was fun to do.”
Everyone’s in on the fun right along with him.
“I’ve always been pretty open on ‘The Impractical Jokers,’”
talk about parenting, I’ve got lots of stories of my kids, also
he says. “I was always myself. I didn’t play a character, so when people watched it, they really to got to know the sense of me, my personality. Even a lot of my personal life was in that show as well. People who come to my show know me already from that. But here I get to tell different stories. I talk about parenting, I’ve got lots of stories of my kids, also the craziness of animal rescue with my dogs, growing up with my crazy Italian mother on Staten Island, and of course, my friends, the Jokers. There’s no shortage of stories.”
Oh yes, about those dogs. There are nine of them in the Gatto household, all older rescues.
“It’s like a pack mentality,” he says, laughing, insisting his four-legged companions “pretty much follow the house rules.”
Eventually the Gattos realized they couldn’t rescue every dog in need. Hence their nonprofit Gatto Pups & Friends, which facilitates adoptions for mainly senior and disabled dogs, opened in Glen Head in November 2022.
“We wanted to do it in our neighborhood,” he says. “We love being around here. We found a cool space for the storefront, right across the street from one of our favorite places for lunch. It just all aligned.”
Although firmly ensconced in Glen Head, the South Shore still calls out to him. Gatto frequently visits Lynbrook, where he lived between 2014 and 2017, and where his sister still resides.
His family ties bring him frequently back to visit.
“I love Lynbrook,” he says.“I had such a great experience there. There’s always something special about your first home.”
Plus, “Vincent’s is still one of my favorite pizzerias,” he adds.
You’ll even find him hanging out at Lynbrook’s Regal, taking in a movie with his niece and nephew.
“I go there all the time with them,” he shares. “They’re movie buffs like me, and that’s our go-to movie theater.”
In fact, a film may be in his future.
“I’m doing pretty good, enjoying my ride right now,” Gatto says. “But I’ve always wanted to write and direct film. That’s actually why I got into entertainment. So that’s what I’m focusing on now. That’s what’s left on the bucket list, along with always creating and thinking of new ways to make people smile.”
And as for his outing at The Paramount, it’s being filmed for a comedy special.
“I’ve been working to two years on the thing,” he says, “so I don’t it want it to just go away.”
And there’s always the possibility of another collaboration with his “Jokers” buddies. “I never un-united with them,” he says. “They’re still my friends. We’re just not ‘friends from work’ anymore. I love creating with those guys, so who knows what the future holds.”
The comedian-actress, who reigns as the queen of the alt-comedy scene, is eager to speak her mind when she visits here with her latest stand-up tour. Considered by many as an American institution since she first burst on the scene in 1992, the outspoken activist has plenty to say, in her own inimitable comedic style. Known for her incisive cynical sense of humor, the SNL alum has branched out into film and television, including ‘The Truth About Cats and Dogs,’ ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ and ‘Ratatouille,’ among her memorable roles. Garofalo’s informed opinions and unflinching honesty on topics ranging from everyday life to pop culture inspire laughs and strike a chord with audiences everywhere. Often a lightning rod for controversy, Garofalo finds a way to get her point across with her trademark sense of humor. Known and respected worldwide, Garofalo was also instrumental in the successful launching of the first liberal radio network, Air America Radio, where she hosted her own talk show, ‘The Majority Report.’
Friday, March 8, 8 p.m. $33, $28. Jeanne Rimsky Theater at Landmark on Main Street, 232 Main St., Port Washington. Tickets available at LandmarkOnMainStreet.org or (516) 767-6444.
The circus is back. The iconic Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey spectacle returns after a hiatus, re-imagined as a 360-degree experience that brings fans into the action. Packed with explosive excitement, ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’ begins and ends with a bang. Lauren Irving, Alex Stickels and Jan Damm join forces as Aria, Stix and Nick Nack, who serve as its soul, rhythm and funny bone. The trio, appearing as show guides, encounter never-before-seen stunts, acrobatic displays, and comedic acts along the way. An international cast of 75 performers take on a variety of enthralling circus acts, including new stunts like the Triangular Highwire, led by the Lopez Family, sixth-generation circus artists hailing from Mexico and Chile. There are also comic clowning, extreme sports, and acrobatic aerial feats — all enhanced with original music.
Friday through Sunday, March 8-10, times vary. Tickets available at Ticketmaster.com, or Ringling. com. UBS Arena, 2400 Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont.
When virtuoso Irish playing jumps the pond running through the wide open fields of Bluegrass and Americana, JigJam is born. This Offaly and Tipperary-born band has started the Irish invasion of Americana with a brand new band member from Glasgow injecting the magic of Scottish folk music. The lads bring their foot-stomping sound to the Landmark stage, for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, Saturday, March 16, at 8 p.m. Described as ‘The best Irish band in bluegrass’ and ‘sparkling, infectious’ these gents have been hailed as ‘Ireland’s answer to New Grass Revival’. Founding members from Offaly Jamie McKeogh (lead singer and guitar) and Daithi Melia (5 string banjo and Dobro) were joined by Tipperary-born Gavin Strappe (mandolin and tenor banjo) in 2016. They’ve since added Glasgow native Danny Hunter (fiddle) to make up this iGrass (Irish Bluegrass) quartet. They’ve been hailed as “Ireland’s answer to New Grass Revival,” with a sound that has its roots in Irish music and Irish immigration. iGrass and JigJam is what happens when the Irish find their prodigal son. $38.14-$49.48. Jeanne Rimsky Theater at Landmark on Main Street, 232 Main St., Port Washington. Tickets available at LandmarkOnMainStreet.org or (516) 767-6444.
Inspired by L. Frank Baum’s stories, this clever adaptation puts the audience front and center, literally, on the Long Island Children’s Museum stage, Friday, March 8, 10:15 a.m. and noon, Sunday, March 10, 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday, March 13-14,10:15 a.m. and noon. Kids become cast members, singing dancing, and acting on stage alongside the professional cast.
One of our most interactive shows at LICM Theater, this production received rave reviews in its prior run. Going beyond the traditional telling of the Oz stories, “Journey to Oz” uses personal journal entries and historic newspaper headlines to bring the history of author L. Frank Baum and illustrator W.W. Denslow to life. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion take the audience with them on this lively, playful trip down the yellow brick road. $10 with museum admission ($8 members), $14 theater only. Long Island Children’s Museum, Museum Row, Garden City. (516) 224-5800 or LICM.org.
On exhibit
Nassau County Museum of Art’s latest exhibition, “Our Gilded Age,” examines the appearances and the realities of an era that mirrors our own in many ways.
Like the nation’s economy, American art and literature flourished during the Gilded Age. The art of John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam, Louis Comfort Tiffany and others adorned palatial residences designed by Stanford White and Ogden Codman Jr., architect of the museum’s own quintessential Gilded Age mansion.
Drawing heavily upon the local literary history of Long Island, including William Cullen Bryant, Mark Twain (who named the Gilded Age), Walt Whitman, Edith Wharton and others, the exhibition will include paintings, fashion, decorative arts including period silver and china, photographs, manuscripts, first editions and other historic memorabilia.
The “Upstairs, Downstairs” approach to the life of a country house brings to life not only the storied conspicuous consumption for which the Gilded Age was infamous, but also the real lives of these many individuals who maintained the palatial estates where that lifestyle was enjoyed.
On view through March 10 Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Dr., Roslyn Harbor. (516) 484-9337 or NassauMuseum.org.
A number of state electeds are calling on the governor to slow down her plans to make school buses electric by 2035 — something they say could have a devastating impact on district finances.
Some like state Sen. Steve Rhoads and state Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick joined Assemblyman John Mikulin and other officials handling fire and safety at schools at the Levittown Public School bus yard in Wantagh last week hoping they can convince Gov. Kathy Hochul to extend the deadline for that mandate deeper into the future to ensure it’s affordability for communities like those in Nassau County.
“There’s nothing magical about this New York state school bus mandate,” Rhoads said.
Citing the main character from the popular children’s television animated series “The Magic School Bus,” Rhoads said “even Ms. Frizzle herself would agree that this burdensome mandate takes chances, makes mistakes, and gets messy.”
The state’s current budget mandates all school buses must have no environmental impact through emissions by 2035, with districts only allowed to purchase electric school buses by mid-2027.
The idea, according to Hochul, is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050. The state’s environmental conservation department blames the transportation sector overall as one of New York’s largest sources of emissions, which contributes to climate change impacts such as increased heat waves, sea level rise and flooding.
“Old school buses are putting children’s health at risk, spewing toxic fumes and pollutants into the air that are proven to have negative health impacts,” Hochul’s office said, in a statement. “After New York vot-
ers approved an Environmental Bond Act that allocated $500 million for zero-emission school buses, Gov. Hochul is working with communities across New York to allocate these funds and ensure they are fully utilized.”
But Rhoads says the mandate does not account for the logistical and financial challenges that school districts, bus companies and power companies will face in implementing the plan. A new, full-sized electric bus costs as much as $450,000 — triple the price of a conventional.
With some 45,000 school buses on the road in the state, Rhoads says the full conversion by 2035 would cost in the neighborhood of $20 billion.
The Levittown school district — with a fleet of 80 buses — is in the beginning stages of the mandate. Superintendent Todd Winch said it would cost the district as much as $32 million to replace their fleet, and will purchase its first electric bus this year.
“We don’t replace a whole fleet for maybe 20 years, but now they’re asking us to replace the whole fleet from 2027 to 2035,” Winch said. “Now you’re talking about a very short time period to replace the whole fleet, which would be very, very difficult.”
In addition, the Levittown bus yard would require 40 charging stations, each one costing between $30,000 and $50,000, Winch added.
The state has offered to help, but Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick said the $500 million offered would only cover a little more than 1,200 buses. The rest would have to paid for by local taxpayers — and that’s not even including infrastructure and charging stations.
“Where’s the rest of that money coming from?” the state senator asked. “You, from the taxpayers, because that’s what the school districts will be forced to do to meet this mandate.”
But the current high costs associated with electric buses are expected to come down over time, Hochul said. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority announced last September it believes the price of an electric school bus should be on-par with a gasoline-powered bus as early as 2027 thanks to advances in battery technology, more manufacturing, as well as lower fuel and maintenance expenses.
Rhoads calls Hochul’s mandate a rushed plan.
“We all want to see a greener future,” he said. “There is no question about that. But we have to make sure that if our goal is providing affordable, safe, and reliable transportation to our students, we have to make sure we have a plan which gets us to that future, but still accomplishes that primary goal.”
L
L
manner provided by law, on the 15th day of March at 10:00 o’clock in the forenoon, in the Board Room at the Village Hall in said Village, so such of each of the following parcels of real estate upon which Village Taxes remain unpaid as will be sufficient to discharge the tax, fees, interest and charges which may be due thereon respectively at the time of such sale, and shall continue the same from day to day until the said sale shall be completed. Such purchaser at such tax sale will be required to pay ten percentum of his respective bid to the undersigned Village Treasurer immediately upon the conclusion of this sale and the remaining ninety per centum within ten days after the sale and upon such payment in full shall receive a written certificate of sale describing the real estate purchased and sum paid therefor. THE NAMES OF OWNERS SHOWN ON THIS LIST MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE THE NAMES OF THE PERSONS OWNING THE PROPERTY AT THE TIME OF THIS ADVERTISEMENT. SUCH NAMES HAVE BEEN TAKEN EITHER FROM ASSESSMENT ROLLS PREPARED AS OF APRIL 2023 OR FROM THE RECORDS OF THE RECEIVER OF TAXES AND FREQUENTLY DIFFER FROM THE NAMES OF THE OWNERS AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. IT MAY ALSO BE THAT SUCH OWNERS ARE NOMINAL ONLY AND ANOTHER PERSON IS ACTUALLY THE BENEFICIAL OWNER PROPERTY OWNERS MAY MAKE PAYMENT AT VILLAGE HALL PRIOR TO TAX SALE. PAYMENT MUST BE BY CASH OR CERTIFIED CHECK ONLY. The following is a list of the parcels of real estate to be sold, including the amount of the tax, fees, interest and charges thereon, all parcels being within Section 21 of the Nassau County Land and Tax Map, to wit:
A statewide group of local news organizations — comprising of more than 100 newspapers across New York — have launched The Empire State Local News Coalition, a joint advocacy effort to advance a legislative package intended to deliver long-term sustainability to the sector.
The coalition launches at a watershed moment for the journalism industry as well as democracy. More than 3,000 newspapers have shuttered across the country since 2005, resulting in thousands of layoffs and countless communities losing essential platforms for sharing their stories.
In New York state alone, newspapers have declined 40 percent between 2004 and 2019. Since then, the number of journalists has halved, and there has been a 60 percent decrease in overall circulation.
There is a growing number of communities with little to no access to local newspaper coverage. More than a dozen New York counties are down to just one newspaper, and Orleans County in Western New York is the first with no local newspaper at all.
The decline of local journalism is a threat to the health of our democracy, as research from the Democracy Fund shows there is a direct correlation between the breadth of local media coverage and levels of civic engagement — an especially significant factor in an election year.
If newspapers continue to shutter, communities across the state risk being effectively disenfranchised, losing the ability to shape policy conversations, and hold local officials accountable.
“The Empire State Local News Coalition is dedicated to advancing a legislative package with bipartisan support aimed at providing a lifeline to newspapers across the state,” said founding member Zachary Richner — director of Richner Communications, the parent company of Herald Community Newspapers — in a release. “All New Yorkers deserve to have their voices heard, and hometown newspapers are key to that mission.
“We urge government officials and local stakeholders to rally behind us, safeguarding democracy, and bolstering the future of local journalism in New York.”
The Empire State coalition is championing what it describes as a robust legislative package intended to ensure local papers survive through the 21st century and beyond. Key priorities include:
• The Local Journalism Sustainability Act (S.625B, A.2958C) — Sponsored by state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the bill would provide tax credits to local news outlets for the employment of local journalists, while providing job stability and paving the way for more hiring opportunities, and an expanded workforce in the future.
• Incentivizing small businesses to advertise in local media — This win-win proposal, according to organizers, would encourage local businesses to advertise in local media, driving revenue for hometown papers, while connecting businesses with their customers.
“Democracy places a responsibility on citizens to be informed so they can effectively participate in the electoral process, and in local government,” said Bill Shumway, editor and publisher of North Country This Week in Potsdam, in a release. “A trusted local news source is essential for that to happen. Healthy communities need an unbiased news organization to connect, enrich and inform citizens.”
“The bottom line is that this proposed legislation would be a major game changer,” said Mark Vinciguerra, president of Capital Region Independent Media out of Clifton Park. “We would be able to increase the number and type of journalists we have on staff. It would allow us to cover more beats, do more video reporting, investigative reporting, and expand our ‘Good News’ initiative we have started.”
A 2022 analysis found more than 350 newsrooms across the state would benefit from the local journalism payroll tax credit. This includes 53 newsrooms in New York City, with 21 of them being ethnic media outlets.
To learn more about the efforts, visit SaveNYLocalNews.com.
If a poll were to be taken, I would have to be the last person on this planet who thinks that government is a perfect institution. I respect the FBI and the CIA, and I even trust the IRS. As a senior citizen, I have always considered Medicare one of the finest agencies we have, but some new facts have emerged that have convinced me that it is a sloppy and careless government behemoth.
My loss of faith in the folks who run Medicare started about three months ago, when I opened up my wife, Suzan’s, periodic statements of money spent on her medical needs. I quickly noticed that Medicare had approved $14,300 for a Texas company named Pretty in Pink Boutique. There was a claim for the sale of 600 urinary catheters over a 60-day period to my wife.
I’m happy that Suzan is physically well and by no means has any need for a warehouse full of catheters. Within minutes of discovering that Medicare had approved and paid for all of them, I
placed a call to the agency’s general number. I was connected to a woman named Gladys, who listened patiently to my complaint and, at my request, I was transferred to a Fraud Unit.
The person there noted my complaint, and assured me that it would be passed up the bureaucratic chain, to make sure there was a record of the payment, which was obviously fraudulent. A few days, later I received my periodic Medicare statement, and immediately noticed that Medicare had paid a company in Chicago for a coronavirus vaccine that I had allegedly received. That seemed strange, because I had gotten my shot at a local pharmacy, not connected to any company in Illinois.
In a farreaching scam, people everywhere are getting billed for catheters.
It seems that a woman named Linda Hennis, a resident of suburban Chicago, was checking her January Medicare statement when she noticed that a company she had never heard of had been paid about $12,000 for 2,000 catheters. She had never needed, or received, any catheters. They had been sold by a company called, guess what, Pretty in Pink Boutique.
the catheter billings. She would not confirm whether the claims had been paid. She described Medicare billing scams as “one of these problems that is ever-present and ever frustrating.”
Not to be deterred, I placed another call to the Medicare Fraud Unit, and they dutifully noted my concern about another improper payment for medical services. Satisfied that I had performed my civic duty, I turned my attention back to my law practice and other pursuits. My satisfaction lasted about 48 hours, until I spotted a New York Times article titled “Staggering Rise in Catheter Bills Suggests Medicare Scam.”
It seems that Ms. Hennis and my wife are among the 450,000 Medicare beneficiaries whose accounts were billed for catheters in 2023, up from 50,000 in previous years. It turns out that the massive increase in billing for catheters included $2 billion charged by seven high-volume suppliers, which was the equivalent of nearly one-fifth of all Medicare spending on supplies in 2023. Doctors, state insurance departments and health care groups around the country said this spike in claims for catheters that were never delivered suggests that it is not only a scam, but a far-reaching one.
What is the government doing? Dara Corrigan, who runs Medicare’s Center for Program Integrity, declined to say whether the agency was investigating
It turns out that Pretty in Pink Boutique billed Medicare at least $267 million for catheters between October 2022 and December 2023. The vast majority of the suspicious claims came from seven companies, many of which had shared executives. One of the businesses had a working phone number, but no calls were returned. The Pretty in Pink Boutique has a telephone number connected to a body shop.
Other scams are getting public attention, such as phony Covid vaccine claims, which are slowly surfacing. Regardless of its denials or bureaucratic double-speak, Medicare is failing the millions of Americans who rely on the system to be accurate and honest. Every dollar lost to some con artist is a dollar meant to pay for a legitimate health care claim.
Jerry Kremer was an Assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. He now heads Empire Government Strategies, a business development and legislative strategy firm. Comments about this column? jkremer@liherald.com.
Democrats were understandably elated when former Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi won the special election in New York’s 3rd Congressional District on Feb. 13, but they shouldn’t be popping any champagne. In truth, Suozzi’s victory over the Republicans’ candidate, Mazi Melesa Pilip, was a lot closer than it should have been.
Suozzi won just under 54 percent of the vote. Doesn’t that seem a little low? After all, he’s a former mayor of Glen Cove, a former Nassau County executive, and a former three-term representative of the district in Congress. Pilip, meanwhile, is a sophomore county legislator.
An alarming sign for me is the money spent by each campaign for each vote. Suozzi spent $2.36 million and won roughly 91,300 votes, meaning he spent almost $26 per vote. In comparison, Pilip spent just $714,000 and won roughly 78,200 votes, or just over $9 per vote.
That means that Pilip needed on average one-third the cash to bring her vot-
ers out to the polls. That indicates to me that Pilip’s voters were more excited and zealous. Suozzi, on the other hand, had to fight to bring Democrats out.
If Pilip and Suozzi had had the same fundraising numbers, and the cash-pervote numbers held, Pilip would have garnered over three times her vote total. Even if we halved Suozzi’s advantage (to make the comparison a bit more realistic), Pilip still might have won, with over 58.5 percent of the vote, if she’d spent as much money as Suozzi.
HSo, Democrats, is this your grand victory?
Aside from that lingering question, Suozzi ran a good campaign. He attacked Pilip where he needed to and worked hard in just the couple of months that he had, barnstorming through the district. He held a large event in my native Westbury, which I appreciate. The difficult fight he had, and the difficult fight many Nassau Democrats have, was beyond his control.
e spent nearly three times as much campaign money as Pilip for each vote.
To top it off, state Democrats are going to get another chance to draw district lines this year, meaning that Suozzi is almost certainly going to be redistricted into a safer, more heavily Democratic district. Why sink millions into an election that you most likely would have won more easily in nine months?
I read the election results this way: A Democratic political veteran with high name recognition and a 3-to-1 fundraising advantage won an election with the second-worst margin he’s won his House seat with, against a neophyte opponent no one had ever heard of, whom he probably would have more easily defeated in nine months.
For one thing, the political landscape on Long Island is shifting against Democrats. For years in Nassau County, the number of new voters registering as Democrats outpaced those registering as Republicans, but that is changing. In the towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay and the City of Glen Cove, which account for most of the population of the 3rd District, voter registration data for the past year confirms that the ratio of Democrats to Republicans is shrinking.
Area Democrats have also been suffering from guilt by association. The Nassau GOP has successfully associated local Democrats with their more leftleaning colleagues in New York City. The Long Islanders are branded with
negative labels like “radical” and “socialist,” or worse, “radical socialist.”
Finally, local Democrats continue to be hammered on bail reform, affordable housing and crime. These attacks are nonsense, but they stick because there is no apparatus in place to respond. None of this is Suozzi’s fault. Rather, the problem lies squarely with the Nassau and state Democratic committees, which have poor fundraising operations, abysmal organizing capacity, and virtually nonexistent communication with voters.
The party is failing to recruit new members, and cannot adequately defend its candidates, let alone go on the offensive. The state Democratic Party continues to fail candidates like Suozzi and the voters that make their existence possible.
That’s why I don’t consider Suozzi’s victory any kind of Democratic renaissance. His hard-fought win doesn’t portend more party wins in Nassau, because a successful two-month campaign can’t fix a state Democratic Party that has lost almost every position of power on Long Island in the past eight years.
Matthew Adarichev is a public policy major at Hofstra University, a political activist and an aspiring journalist whose work has appeared in the Hofstra Chronicle and the Anton Media Group.
As objective and independent news writers and editors, we have an imperative to cover the issues most important to you, the people of our community.
Every day, our team of reporters is on the ground questioning elected officials, uplifting the stories of community changemakers, and uncovering truths that some would rather keep hidden.
But, amid industry challenges, it is no longer unfathomable to picture a future when New York state is completely without local newspapers and other local news outlets.
According to the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, 2.5 newspapers now close each week in the United States. More than 3,000 newspapers have shuttered across the country since 2004, and New York has been particularly hard hit.
In 2004, New York boasted 501 newspapers. Today, it’s only 260. In 2022 alone, 30 newspapers closed across the state.
A quarter of New York’s counties are news deserts — down to their last newspaper. Orleans County recently became the first in the state to have none. These closures have also resulted in thousands of lost journalism and newsroom-supporting jobs.
Local news matters. Studies show that when a community loses its source of local news, it experiences decreased voter turnout and civic engagement. Increased municipal borrowing costs that lead to higher taxes. And decreased transparency among government and business officials, leading to increased waste, fraud and abuse.
As newspapers shutter, communities become more polarized, leaving us stuck in a never-ending doom loop where we lose sight of our shared values. During this era of intense national partisan-
Let these elected officials know that we need to save local news
■ Contact Gov. Kathy Hochul: (518) 474-8390
■ Contact State Sen. Jack Martins: (516) 922-1811
■ Contact Assemblyman Charles Lavine: (516) 676-0050
Our newspaper is a proud member of the Empire State Local News Coalition. Support the coalition at SaveNYLocalNews.com.
ship, local news offers a path forward.
The time to act is now. That is why the Sea Cliff/Glen Head Herald has joined with more than 150 other New York local newspapers to launch the Empire State Local News Coalition.
Comprising both print and online local newspapers, this coalition is advocating for sound public policy that ensures the important work of local news organizations can continue in our state. Through our independent journalism, we aim to serve, inform, uplift and protect New York residents.
Our coalition cares deeply about our local communities as well as the future of New York’s free press. However, market forces are making it nearly impossible for us to survive. So, together, we are sounding the alarm bell for our leaders in Albany to hear.
At the heart of our advocacy is the Local Journalism Sustainability Act. Sponsored by state Sen. Brad Hoylman-
To the Editor:
Around 10 years ago, a new water tower was erected in Sea Cliff. It replaced a smaller one that served the town for perhaps 100 years. The new tower, from all reports, has been a success. In other words, it does what it was designed and built to do.
For the last several years, however, it’s been obvious to even the most casual of observers that the tower is not being maintained. There are large rusty areas all over the structure, and some look quite advanced.
I emailed Village Hall, but never received a response. It’s going to be a shame if for lack of a paint job, this water tower needs to be replaced before its useful life span has been reached.
Like so many infrastructure projects, funds are available to build, but the lack of foresight in budgeting a corresponding maintenance plan is planning and management negligence.
It seems like the various village managers and water compa-
Sigal and Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner — with the bipartisan support of 55 co-sponsors — this bill provides tax credits to local news outlets for the employment of local news journalists. News organizations are incentivized to actually add jobs, returning reporters to many of the state’s newsrooms, which are becoming increasingly desolate.
Importantly, the bill is also contentneutral, meaning that any legitimate local news outlet — left, right or inbetween — can benefit from this bill. The objectivity of the bill’s eligibility requirements means the legislation cannot be weaponized to penalize news organizations critical of government officials.
As New York loses talented journalists, lawmakers must act to ensure the industry is allowed not only to survive, but also to thrive. Only local news outlets — with boots-on-the-ground journalists — can deliver the hyperlocal updates and investigations necessary to sustain a community’s civic and financial wellbeing.
Imagine no stories about the village or town board meeting, or the school budget debate. No pictures of your granddaughter’s first soccer goal. No obituary of your friendly (and eccentric) neighbor. No investigative reporting to hold public officials to account. And no trusted institution to convene the community around a family in need.
We need your help to save local news in New York. To get the Local Journalism Sustainability Act across the finish line, lawmakers need to hear from you about why our newspaper matters and why this bill is important to you.
If you would like to help, reach out to Gov. Kathy Hochul and your local state representatives to let them know you stand with local news.
The history of America’s relationship with the indigenous peoples who lived here before the arrival of European settlers has been fraught with sugarcoating, obfuscation, and downright ignorance.
WILL SHEELINE
On Long Island — where so many of our communities still bear the names of the native tribes that were here for millennia — that history continues to remain hidden and untaught, despite the fact that numerous municipalities still claim to “honor” the legacy of these tribes through school team and village logos that feature stereotypical headdresses and depictions of Native Americans.
Before the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano first saw what would become known as Long Island in 1524, there were tens of thousands of indigenous peoples living here, largely in peaceful co-existence among 13 tribes along the coasts of the island. These were the Canarsee, Corchaug, Manhasset, Marsapeague, Matinecock, Merrick, Montaukett, Nesaquake, Rockaway, Secatogue, Setauket, Shinnecock and Unkechaug.
They inhabited the land for more than 10,000 years, and were expert fishers and clammers who relied on the abundant fish, lobsters, clams and even whales to supplement the food they got through
hunting and the harvesting of corn.
The various tribes had different names for the island they called home: Paumanok, Lepanehoking, Sewanhacky and Wamponomon — the last two referencing the abundance of wampum, or shells, from local clams used for decoration or currency.
The tribes themselves were closely related to several different nations from the surrounding land, with the majority of the western Long Island tribes speaking Algonquian dialects. The Algonquian people, at their height, stretched up and down the northeastern United States and into Canada. Their people, traded goods and culture traveled from Lake Superior to the Long Island Sound.
Irate and finely made clothing and blankets. They also made ornamental pottery, stamped with decorative designs, and traded these goods across the Sound and along the East Coast.
t’s our duty, as Americans and as human beings, to honor native tribes’ heritage.
Since the beginning of white settlement on Long Island, roughly 90 percent of native people have been killed — either intentionally or incidentally — by colonists, through everything from violence to disease to loss of native wildlife and land displacement. The majority of tribes disappeared from Long Island before the Revolutionary War, and in the centuries since, a number of American historians have attempted to whitewash the presence and impact of Native Americans here.
— the Shinnecock Reservation, in Southampton, and the Poospatuck Reservation, in Mastic. The descendants of many of the tribes still live throughout the United States, forced to occupy reservations as far from their homeland as Oklahoma.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of native Long Island history and culture. The best way to honor them and their legacy is by educating ourselves on their history and finding ways to support the descendants of these tribes, whose land we now live on.
nies have been pointing fingers of blame at one another since I moved here in 2004. Perhaps the Herald can help them focus their minds on the obvious..
GERRY CALDWELL Sea CliffIt was obvious why Republicans chose Pilip
To the Editor:
I read the Herald’s coverage of the special election between Tom Suozzi and Mazi Pilip. You didn’t mention that Pilip was a registered Democrat when she ran against Suozzi. She didn’t change her party affiliation until a few days ago.
Right from the beginning, Pilip didn’t want to take many questions from the press, and showed she didn’t know very much about the issues. The Republicans had her run because she was pretty, black, and Jewish, with an interesting background.
MYRON MARINBACH LynbrookThe indigenous people of eastern Long Island spoke a Lenape-Munsee dialect, showing their connection to the Lenape communion, a group of hundreds of tribes stretching from Delaware to the Hudson Valley.
Through their Lenape heritage, the eastern Long Island tribes were linked to the Powhatan Federation, famous for the daughter of one of their chieftains, Pocahontas, and their relationship with the Jamestown colonists.
In addition to the sustenance they acquired from the animals and crops of the region, the various tribes were also accomplished artists and musicians, particularly with the use of wampum shells for decorative pieces, and weaved elabo-
To the Editor:
Despite this, they still played a key role in Long Island’s early history, particularly in the close relationship between the Montaukett and the English settlers of what is now Suffolk County. When Long Island became a center for the whaling industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, many natives were hired for their bravery, strength and long history of whaling in their respective cultures.
A Shinnecock man named Eleazar was the first Native American to enter Japanese territory while serving as a crewman aboard the whaling vessel Manhattan, which anchored in Tokyo Bay while on an expedition in 1845.
Nowadays, there are only two reservations for indigenous tribes on Long Island
It’s time to cut through the noise and tell the truth about immigration: Our economy and community is stronger because of it. Some leaders would have us think it’s a zerosum game when our country takes in immigrants, but that’s not true at all.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the U.S. economy will grow by an extra $7 trillion over the next 10 years thanks to immigrants!
But we don’t have to wait for the future to see how they are strengthening the economy. In 2021, immigrants paid $524.7 billion in taxes. That’s money that helps fuel our nation’s schools, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security programs. Immigrants help support our communities as consumers and taxpayers.
Don’t believe it? Even former President Donald Trump’s appointed Federal Reserve chair, Jerome H. Powell, recognized the massive contributions immigrants make in an interview on “60 Minutes,” saying, “A big part of the story of the labor market coming back into better balance is immigration
Anyone interested in preserving and honoring native culture can promote and patronize indigenous-owned businesses and places that educate on the history of the local tribes — such as the Shinnecock Nation Cultural Center and Museum, in Southampton — and support increase funding for local school districts to include academic courses and cultural opportunities so our children understand the peoples who lived here before their ancestors.
While we may not have been taught much about them, the native tribes of Long Island are an integral part of our communities’ history. It is our duty — as both Americans and human beings — to not only honor their heritage, but also to uplift their voices and educate ourselves on their proud history and tradition.
Both because it is the right thing to do, and because there is still so much for us to learn.
Will Sheeline is a senior reporter who writes for the Glen Cove, Oyster Bay and Sea Cliff/Glen Head Heralds. Comments? wsheeline@liherald.com.
returning to levels that were more typical of the pre-pandemic era.”
So let’s give credit where credit is due, stop the anti-immigrant rhetoric and end the zero-sum mindset. Immigration truly is essential for our eco-
JOSEPH
29
LP:
96
LP: $3,900/mo.
Eileen Heimer
c.516.606.6077
3
LP:
Linda Brown
c.516.650.9145
Susan
1667A
LP:
299
LP:
401
Eileen
Rented
34
LP:
Sandi
42L
LP: